Cousin, Jones ready to team up at Queens

Seniors at Eastern Alamance, Williams excited to become teammates at next level

Conor O'Neill / Times-News

Eastern Alamance’s Jaimee Cousin struggled through the first half of last girls' basketball season.

Williams High School’s Carlye Jones missed most of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament.

This week the pair signed with Queens University of Charlotte to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level.

“Coach (Susan) Yow said, ‘Could you see yourself here. I was like, ‘Could I see myself here? Yes, this is where I want to be,’ ” Jones said, asserting that there was little hesitation for her.

Cousin didn’t need much convincing either, she said.

“They only saw me play once and they wanted me the first time,” Cousin said Wednesday during a ceremony at Eastern Alamance. “I went for a visit and … I knew a lot of (players) and they worked hard. I felt that I would be a good fit with them.”

Cousin, a guard, had been a consistently good shooter for the girls’ basketball team until she hit a slump to start her junior season, coach Tim Krotish said.

Jones and the Bulldogs are one of the obstacles for Cousin, but that wouldn’t impede what has been a friendly rivalry on the court with a friendship off the court.

“We’ve decided that we want to be (college) roommates,” Jones said.

Jones, a forward, started as a sophomore for a Williams team that lost in the Class 3-A state championship for the 2011-12 season. Jones said she was “down” for about a month after her season-ending injury in December last season.

Now, she has a different perspective on the injury.

“It’s probably one of the best blessings in disguise I’ve ever had,” Jones said. “People thought it would set me back, but I think it’s pushed me forward.”

Jones noted her increased passion after becoming a spectator last season.